Overview
When Quandamooka Festival returns for 2024, it'll begin with a Welcome to Country and traditional smoking ceremony. The celebration of First Nations music and culture will also enjoy a homecoming. It's been two years since the event was last held on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island, after popping up at Wynnum Fringe instead in 2023. This will be its first full-scale event since 2022, then, and only the second time since 2019 that the fest has returned to Country. Accordingly, the tribute to the Quandamooka Peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the Quandamooka Estate that have ties to Minjerribah dating back 20,000 years, will feel even more meaningful.
Of course, no one should ever need a specific excuse to honour and embrace Australia's Indigenous culture, but Quandamooka Festival offers one anyway, this time in the form of a two-day event across Friday, August 30–Saturday, August 31. On the agenda: heroing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, music, dance, food, stories and more via live performances, Kunjiel (corroborees), arts and crafts, movies, panel discussions, cuisine and tours.
The complete lineup hasn't yet been revealed, but Quandamooka Festival has dropped the first three names to look forward to. Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung woman and QMA Indigenous Artist of the Year 2022 Jem Cassar-Daley will headline the Friday night, while Uncle Joe Geia and Quandamooka musician Sachem are also on the bill.
On the Saturday, traditional dance will be the focus, as will the drive in-style first-ever Quandamooka Film Festival featuring the work of locals on the silver screen.
"Quandamooka Festival is a great opportunity to bring the whole community and visitors together to celebrate culture and the arts, and learn more about Quandamooka Country — the sands, seas, sacred lakes, creeks, catchments and creatures found across the Redlands/Moreton Bay islands from the Quandamooka Peoples perspective," said Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation Chair Cameron Costello.
Entry to the event at QYAC campus Minjerribah Gunaba on East Coast Road is free, kicking off at 4pm on the Friday, but registration to attend is mandatory and opens on Tuesday, July 9.
Quandamooka Festival 2024 runs from Friday, August 30–Saturday, August 31 on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). For more information, or to buy tickets, head to the festival's website.